Baker Mayfield Highlights A List Of Three Heisman Finalists

On Monday night, three Heisman finalists were named for the 2017 season. The finalists are representing three areas of the country, so the votes seemed to spread out. However, there is one heavy favorite coming into Saturday’s event. Baker Mayfield has been devastating defenses for most of the college football season. He also led the Oklahoma Sooners to the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff. In addition to Mayfield, the PAC-12 picked up another Heisman finalist out of Stanford. Bryce Love is the only running back to make the cut. Last but not least is Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. The 2016 Heisman winner is making his second appearance. As a former winner, Jackson gets a vote. However, there’s no certainty of who he would vote for as the top player in the country.

Let’s Breakdown The Heisman Finalists.

Baker Mayfield- QB- Oklahoma Sooners: We’ve seen this story for the last two months of the season. Scratch that, we have seen this story for the last three seasons with Baker Mayfield. The Sooners’ All-American quarterback is making his third straight trip into the Top 4. He hasn’t been fortunate enough to win the award, but this seems to be his year. Mayfield led the Sooners to a (12-1) record. That may be the most important number. He also completed 71 percent of his pass attempts. It’s more impressive when you realize the Sooners’ throw the ball down the field. He passed for 4,340 yards, 41 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Mayfield also tied for second in rushing touchdowns with five.

The biggest omission from the Heisman finalists is in the Big Ten. Running back Saquon Barkley of the Penn State Nittany Lions. Quarterback J.T. Barrett also didn’t earn an invite.

Let’s breakdown the 2017 Heisman Finalists.

Bryce Love- RB- Stanford Cardinal: Barring injury, Bryce Love would have cruised past the 2,000-yard mark this season. Instead, Love only gained 1,973 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2017. Oh yeah, he averaged a whopping 8.3 yards per carry. However, the Cardinal finished with a (9-4) record. Love rushed for at least 100 yards in 11 of the 12 games he played in. He missed the October 26 date against the Oregon State Beavers. Love came back the following week against the Washington State Cougars and only gained 69 yards. He also had back to back games of 263 and 301 yards in September. Love is only a junior and has an opportunity to come back for one final season.

Lamar Jackson- QB- Louisville Cardinals: A year after winning the Heisman Trophy, Lamar Jackson had better stats in some areas. For example, Jackson completed a career high 60 percent of his pass attempts. However, he didn’t produce as many touchdowns as needed for spectacular season in terms of wins. Jackson finished with 25 touchdown passes and 17 rushing touchdowns. He also passed for 3,489 yards while gaining 1,443 rushing yards. Jackson also threw a career low six interceptions.